First suit filed after Carnival Triumph mishap

The lawsuit, which was filed in Miami by a passenger from Texas, accuses Carnival Cruise Lines of negligence and fraud. She claims she was "injured by unsafe, unsanitary and generally despicable conditions" while onboard. NBC's Mark Potter reports.

By Berenice Garcia, Staff Writer, NBC News

A Texas woman was the first passenger to file suit, hours after the Carnival Triumph cruise that left about 3,200 passengers adrift was towed into Mobile, Ala.

Cassie Terry sought unspecified damages against Carnival Corp. in Miami federal court on Friday claiming she was "injured as a result of the unseaworthy, unsafe, unsanitary, and generally despicable conditions."

Terry also claimed a "breach of maritime contract, negligence, negligent misrepresentation, and fraud."

The cruise line has yet to issue a response. "We haven't yet seen the suit and are not in a position to comment," said Jennifer De La Cruz, a spokesperson for Carnival Cruise Lines.

The cruiser was hobbled after an engine fire broke out on the ship, leaving the passengers without power or working bathrooms for five days.

Mark Mazan, another passenger aboard the stricken ship, said he was less than satisfied with the crew.

"It was mistake after mistake after mistake, incompetence to a point I've never seen," Mazan told NBC's TODAY.

Not all agreed. Passenger Martha Vielhabe praised the cruise ship staff’s response to the crisis, calling them "absolutely fabulous and fantastic."

Passengers spoke of their five-day floating nightmare after filing ashore on Friday. Some said that that the corridors of the Triumph began to reek of sewage, and said they stood on long lines to get food. Others said they sought refuge from the ship’s overheated interior by sleeping on the deck.

Carnival Cruise Lines CEO Gerry Cahill apologized for the ordeal as passengers came ashore Friday. “We pride ourselves on providing our guests with a great vacation experience, and clearly we failed in this particular case,” he said.

Because the ship is registered in the Bahamas and the fire occurred in international waters, the official investigation is being conducted by the Bahamian Maritime Authority with assistance from the United States Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board.